"Chounphula and Jhumeila" are among seasonal dances, that are
performed from 'Basant Panchami' onwards to 'Sankranti' or Baisakhi'.
'Jhumeila' is sometimes mixed but is usually restricted to women. 'Chounphula'
is performed by all sections of the community, at night, in groups,
by men and women.

Bhotiya
Dance

Bhotiya Dance
is performed by Bhotias and is connected with death ceremonies. It
is believed by the people that the soul of the dead person is
residing in the body of a goat or sheep and by dancing the soul can
be liberated.

Barada Nati

Barada Nati
dance is performed during religious festivals or any other social
occasion. It is performed by men and women wearing colorful
costumes.

Pandava Dance

Pandava Dance
is performed by narrating the story of Mahabharata accompanied by
dance and music. This is performed during Dussehra and Deepawali.

Langvir Dance

This is a
acrobatic dance performed by men. In this dance the dancer climbs a
pole and balances himself at his navel on the top of the pole.
Accompanied by dhola and music he balances and rotates on his belly
at the pole and performs other acrobatic stunts.

Music of Uttarakhand

Chhopati

These are the folk songs popular in the Rawain - Jaunpur area of
Tehri Garhwal. 'Chhopati' are the love songs sung between men and
women in the form of questions and answers.

Basanti

"Basanti” folk songs are composed for the coming spring season when
flowers bloom and new life springs in the valleys of the hills of
Garhwal. The folk song is sung individually or in groups.

Mangal

Mangal songs are sung during marriage ceremonies. These songs are
basically "Puja Songs" (hymns) sung along with the Purohits (Panditjee/priests)
who keep chanting "Shlokas"(verses) in Sanskrit according to the
Shastras (scriptures) during the marriage ceremony.

Puja Folk Songs

These songs are connected with the Puja (worship) of family deities.
There are other Puja songs connected with 'Tantra' and 'Mantras ' to
exorcise evil spirits from human beings.

Jaggar

Jaggar falls in the category of ghost and spirit worship, in the
form of a folk song or, at times, combined with dances. Sometimes,
Jaggar may also be in the form of Puja folk songs and is sung in
honour of the various Gods and Goddesses.

Bajuband

This is a folk song of love and sacrifice among the shepherds. It is
a love dialogue between a man and woman, or, between a boy and girl.

Khuded

These folk songs depict the suffering of a woman caused by
separation from her husband. The women curse the circumstances under
which she has been separated. This is generally when the husband is
away looking for a job.

Laman

Laman, another
folk song is sung on special occasions, expressing the sacrifice
that a man is willing to undergo for his beloved.

Chhura

'Chhura' folk songs are sung among shepherds, in the form of advice
given by the old to the young, learnt from their experience,
particularly about grazing sheep and goats.

Arts and Crafts of Uttarakhand

Wood Carving

Wood carving is an amazing craft work in
Uttarakhand. Most of the
houses in the village have a variety of wood carving designs and the
designing is based on the images of Gods, nature and other local
things.

Temple Architecture

Flourished by the kings, the temple architecture is an amazing work
of craftsmanship in the Uttarakhand region. Most of the temples are
built by the heavy and big stones and are placed in a very
architectural manner one above the other without any support. All
the stones of the temples were erected with highly intricate and
ornamental carvings. A few example of the temple architecture can be
seen at Kedarnath, Jageshwar, Bageshwar, Panch Kedar etc.

Ornament
Designing

The design of
kumaoni and garhwali ornaments is basically based on the theme which
is more than thousand years old. The ornaments are generally made of
Gold, Silver and sometimes by the Copper.